Module-2

Solar Radiation Geometry

(a) Solar altitude angle(α):

Altitude Angle is the angle between the Sun‘s rays and projection of the Sun’s rays on
the horizontal plane.

(b) Zenith angle (θz):

It is Complementary angle of Sun‘s Altitude angle.
It is a vertical angle between Sun‘s rays and line perpendicular to the horizontal
plane through the point i.e. angle between the beam and the vertical.
Θz=π/2-α

(c) Solar Azimuth Angle (γs):

It is the solar angle in degrees along the horizon east or west of north.
or
It is the horizontal angle measured from north to the horizontal projection of sun‘s rays.

(d) Declination (δ):

It is the angle between a line extending from the center of the Sun and center of
the earth and projection of this on earth‘s equatorial plane.
 Declination is the direct consequence of earth‘s tilt and It would vary
between 23.5o on June 22 to – 23.5o on December
22. On equinoxes of March21 & Sept22 declination is zero.
 The declination is given by the formula

Where n is the day of the year

(e) Meridian:
Meridian is the imaginary line passing through a point or place on earth and north
and south poles of the earth‘.

(f) Hour angle (ω):

Hour angle is the angle through which the earth must turn to bring meridian of the point
directly in line with the sun‘s rays. Hour angle is equal to 15o per hour.

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(g) slope(β):
Angle between the collector surfaces with the horizontal plane is called slope (β).

(h) surface azimuth angle(γ):

Angle between the normal to the collector and south direction is called surface azimuth
angle (γ)

(i) Solar Incident angle(θ):

It is the angle between an incident beam radiation falling on the collector and normal to
the plane surface

Figures:

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Relation between θ and other angles is as follows

Cosθ = Sin фl (sinδ cosβ+Cosδ cosγ cos ω sin β) + Cosфl (Cosδ cosω cos β- sinδ cosγ
sin β) + Cosδ sinγ sinωsin β-----Eqn(1)

Фl=Latitude (north positive) δ=declination (north

positive)

ω=solar hour angle (Positive between midnight and solar noon)

 Case1 Vertical Surface:

β=90o Eqn (1) becomes

Cosθ=Sin ф cosδ cosγ cos ω- Cos фsinδ cosγ+ Cosδ sinγ Sinω --- Eqn (2)

 Case2 Horizantal surfaces β=0o, Eqn(1) becomes

Cosθ=Sin ф sinδ+cosδ cos ф cosω=sinα=cos θz----- Eqn (3)

 Case3

Surface facing south γ =0

cos θT = Sin ф (sinδcosβ+ Cosδ cosω sinβ)

=Cos ф(cosδ cosω cosβ-sinδ sinβ)

=Sinδ Sin(ф-β)+Cosδ cosω Cos(ф-β)------ Eqn (4)

 Case4

Vertical surfaces facing south (β=90o , γ=0)

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 cos θz=Sin ф cosδ cos ω- Cos ф Sinδ-------- Eqn
(5)

Day Length: At the time of sunset or sunrise the zenith angle θz=90o, we

obtain sunrise hour angle as

Since 150 of the hour angle are equivalent to 1 hour The day length

(hrs) is given by

Local Solar Time (Local Apparent Time (LAT) :

Local Solar Time can be calculated from standard time by applying two corrections. The first correction
arises due to the difference in longitude of the location and meridian on which standard time is based. The
correction has a magnitude of 4minutes for every degree difference in longitude. Second correction called
the equation of time correction is due to the fact that earth‘s orbit and the rate of rotation are subject to small
perturbations. This is based on the experimental observations.

Thus, Local Solar Time=Standard time± 4(Standard time Longitude-Longitude of the location)
+ (Equation of time correction)
Example 1:

Determine the local solar time and declination at a location latitude 23015‘N, longitude
77030‘E at 12.30 IST on june 19. Equation of Time correction is =-(1‘01‖ ).

Solution:

The Local solar time=IST-(standard time longitude-longitude of location)+Equation of time

correction.

=12h30‘-4(82030‘-77030‘)-1‘01‖
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=12h8‘59‘‘

Declination δ can be calculated Cooper‘s Equation i.e,

360
= 23.45 sin (284 + 170) = 23.45 sin 860 = 23.430
365

Beam Radiation:

Tilt factor (Rb): The ratio of beam radiation flux falling on the tilted surface to that of horizontal
surface is called the TILT FACTOR for beam radiation.

For case of tilted surface facing due south γ=0

Diffuse Radiation:

Tilt factor (rd): The ratio of diffuse radiation flux falling on the tilted surface to that of
horizontal surface is called the tilt factor for diffuse radiation.

Its value depends on the distribution of diffuse radiation over the sky and the portion of the
sky dome seen by the tilted surface.

Assuming that the sky is an isotropic source of diffuse radiation, for a tilted surface with
slope β, we have

(1+ cosβ)/2 is the shape factor for a tilted surface w.r.t. sky
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 For Total radiation, let Hb=Hourly beam radiation and Hd=Hourly diffuse radiation.

Thus the total beam radiation incident on a tilted surface is given as,

(𝟏+𝒄𝒐𝒔𝑺) (𝑯𝒃+𝑯𝒅) (𝟏−𝒄𝒐𝒔𝑺)

HT=HbRb+ + ρ
𝟐 𝟐

ρ = diffuse reflectance which is used to account for the reradiated

Solar collectors:

Solar collectors are the devices used to collect solar radiation. Generally there are two types of
solar collectors. They are 1) Non-conventional type or Flat plate collector and 2) Concentrating or
Focusing collector.
In a non-concentrating type the area of the absorber is equals the area of the collector and since the
radiation is not focused, the maximum temp achieved in this type is about 100° C. on the other
hand in a concentrating type the area of the absorber is very small (50-100 times) as compared to
the collector area. This results in less loss of heat and also since the radiation is focused to a point
or a line the maximum temp achieved is about 350°C.

Principle of solar energy conversion to heat:

The principle on which the solar energy is converted into heat is the greenhouse effect. The
name is derived from the first application of green houses in which it is possible to grow
vegetation in cold climate through the better utilization of the available sunlight. The solar
radiation incident on the earth‘s surface at a particular wavelength increases the surface temp
of the earth. As a result of difference in temp between the earth‘s surface and the
surroundings, the absorbed radiation is reradiated back to the atmosphere with its
wavelength increased. The Co2 gas in the atmosphere is transparent to the incoming shorter
wavelength solar radiation, while it is opaque to the long wavelength reradiated radiation. As a
result of this the long wavelength radiation gets reflected repeatedly between the earth‘s
atmosphere and the earth‘s surface resulting in the increase in temp of the earth‘s surface. This
is known as the ―Green House Effect. This is the principle by which solar energy is
converted to thermal energy using collector.

In a flat plate collector the absorber plate which is a black metal plate absorbs the radiation
incident through the glass covers. The temp of the absorber plate increases and it begins to emit
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radiation of longer wavelength (IR). This long wavelength radiation is blocked from the glass
covers which act like the Co2 layer in the atmosphere. This repeated reflection of radiation
between the covers and the absorber plate results in the rise of the temp of the absorber plate

Flat plate collector (FPC):

The schematic diagram of a FPC is as shown in fig. it consists of a casing either made up of wood
or plastic having an area of about 2m*1m*15cm. in the casing insulator is provided at the bottom
to check conductive heat transfer. Mineral wool, glass wool, fiber glass, asbestos thermocol etc. are
used as insulator. Above the insulator the absorber plate is fixed. The absorber plate is made of
good conducting material like aluminum or copper. It is coated black to increase its absorption
property. Usually the black coating is done by chemical treatment. Selective coatings which allow
for maximum absorption of radiation and minimum amount of emission are applied on to the
absorber plate. The underside of the plate consists of absorber tubes which run along the length of
the plate. These plates are also made of the same material as that of the absorber plate. Sometimes
the plate itself is bent into the form of tubes. Through these tubes the heat absorbing medium
(water) is circulated. This medium will absorb the heat from the plates and the tubes and its temp
increases. This medium will absorb the heat from the plates and the tubes and its temperature
increases. This way solar energy is collected as heat energy. Above the absorber plate glass covers
are provided. These glass covers help to bring out the greenhouse effect, thus increasing the η of
the collector. More than one cover is used to prevent the loss of radiation by refraction.

BASIC HOT AIR SYSTEM:

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 Schematic diagram of a basic hot air heating system is shown in Fig.5.3.6. In this system the
storage medium is held in the storage unit, while air is the fluid used to transport energy from
collector to the storage and to the building. By adjusting the dampers, the heated air from the
collector can be divided between rock storage and the distribution system, as might be
required by the conditions. For example, when the sun shines after several cloudy days it
would be desirable to utilize the available heat directly in the distribution system rather than
placing it in storage. Two three way valves can be used to bypass the storage tank, as
explained above. An auxiliary source of heating is also provided. Auxiliary heating can
be used to augment the energy supply to the building from the collector or storage if the
supply of heat from it is inadequate.
The position of the blower in figure is shown at the upstream of the collector and the
storage, and it forces the air through these for heating. In this case slight leakage of
heated air will take place. Blower can also be placed on the downstream side of the
collector and storage, so that the pressure in the collector is not above ambient
pressure, which might be advantageous in controlling leakage.

Concentrating collectors: These are the solar collectors where the radiation is focused
either to a point (focal point of the collector) or along a line (focal axis of the collector).
Since the radiation is focused, the η of concentrating collector is always greater than that of
non-focusing or FPC. This is because of the following reasons,
1) In case of focusing collector the area of the absorber is many times smaller than that of the
area of the collector. Where as in a non-concentrating type the area of the absorber equals
area of the collector. Hence here the loss of absorbed radiation is more compared to the
concentrating type.
2) In a concentrating collector since the radiation is focused, its intensity is always greater than
that in the non-focusing type. Because of these reasons the concentrating collectors are
always used for high temp applications like power generation and industrial process heating.

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Classification of concentrating collectors:

1. Focusing type

 Line focusing
 Parabolic trough collector
 cylindrical parabolic
 Mirror strip collector
 Fresnal lense collector

 Point focusing
 Parabolidal collector
 central tower concept

2. Non Focusing type

 Mirror boosting collector

 Compound parabolic concentrator

Compound Parabolic Concentrator

Compound Parabolic Concentrator consists of two parabolic mirror segments, attached to a flat receiver. The
segments are oriented such that the focus of one is located at the bottom end point of the other in contact
with the receiver. It has a large acceptance angle and needs to be adjusted intermittently. Rays in the central
region of the aperture reach the absorber directly whereas, those near the edges undergo one or more
reflections before reaching the absorber. The concentration ratio achieved from this collector is in the range
of 3-7.

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Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrator
It consists of a cylindrical parabolic through reflector and a metal tube receiver at its focal line as shown in
figure above. The receiver tube is blackened at the outside surface to increase absorption. It is rotated about
one axis to track the sun. The heat transfer fluid flows through the receiver tube, carrying the thermal energy
to the next stage of the system. This type of collector may be oriented in any one of the three directions:
East-West, North-South or polar. The polar configuration intercepts more solar radiation per unit area as
compared to other modes and thus gives best performance. The concentration ratio in the range of 5-30 may
be achieved from these collectors.

Parabolidal Dish Collector:

When a parabola is rotated about its optical axis a Parabolidal surface is produced. Above figure shows the
details of this type of collector. Beam radiation is focused at a point in the paraboloid. This requires two axis
tracking. It can have concentration ratio ranging from 10 to few thousands and can yield temperature up to
3000oC. Parabolidal dish collectors of 6- 7m in diameter are commercially manufactured.

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Solar energy storage systems:
The thermal energy of sun can be stored in a well-insulated fluids or solids. It is either stored as i) sensible
heat – by virtue of the heat capacity of the storage medium, or as ii) Latent heat – by virtue of the latent
heat of change of phase of the medium or both.

In the first type of storage the temp of the medium changes during charging or discharging of the storage
whereas in the second type the temp of the medium remains more or less constant since it undergoes a phase
transformation.

An overview of the major techniques of storage of solar energy is as shown in the fig. A wide range of
technical options are available for storing low temp thermal energy as shown. Some of the desired
characteristics of the thermal energy as shown below. Some of the different storage techniques and their
main features are compared in the next table. Desired properties of phase change heat storage materials are
also listed in subsequent table.

WATER HEATING SOLAR SYSTEM

NATURAL CIRCULATION SOLAR WATER HEATER (PRESSURIZED):

A natural circulation system is shown in Fig. 5.2.1. It consists of a titled collector with transparent cover
glasses, a separate highly insulated water storage tank, and well insulated pipes connecting the two. The

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bottom of the tank is at least 1ft the top of the collector, and no auxiliary energy is required to circulate water
through it. The density difference between the hot and cold water thus provides the driving force for the
circulation of water through the collector and the storage tank. Hot water is drawn off from the top of the
tank as required and is replaced by cold water from the service system. As long as the sun shines the water
will quietly circulate, getting warmer. After sunset, a thermosiphon system can reverse its flow direction and
loss heat to the environment during the night. The thermosiphon system is one of the least expensive solar
hot-water systems and should be used whenever possible. Thermosiphon solar water heaters are passive
systems and do not require a mechanical pump to circulate the water. Such heaters can be used extensively
in rural areas, where electricity is expensive and there is little danger of freezing.

NATURAL CIRCULATION SOLAR WATER HEATER (NON-PRESSURIZED)

The pressurized system is able to supply hot water at locations of the storage tank. This creates considerable
stress on the water channels in the collector which must be designed accordingly. The non-pressurized
systems supply hot water by gravity flow only to users lower than tank. If pressurized hot water is required
(for showers, or appliances) the difference in height will have to be large enough to meet the requirements. If
the height of difference cannot be accommodated, the only solution is to install a separate pump and pressure
tank. The stresses within non-pressurized system are lower which allows cheaper and easier construction. In
this type also mechanical pump is not required as shown in Fig.5.2.2.

FORCED CIRCULATION SOLARE WATER HEATER (WITHOUT ANTIFREEZE):

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Fig.5.2.4 shows schematically an example of forced circulation system. By including an
electric pump in the return circuit between the bottom of the storage tank and the lower header
of the collector, the tank can be placed at a more convenient level (e.g. in the house basement).
This is now an active system. A control unit permits the pump to operate only when the
temperature of the water at the bottom of the tank is below that of the water in the upper
header. A check valve is needed to prevent reverse circulation and resultant night time thermal
losses from the collector. In this example, auxiliary heater is shown as provided to the water
leaving the tank and going to the load.

When there is a danger of freezing, the water may be drained from the collector; alternately, a
slow reverse flow of the warmer water may be permitted through the collector on cold nights.
The freezing danger can be overcome, although at some increase in cost, by using an
antifreeze solution as the heat-transport medium, as described earlier. The heat is then
transferred to water in the storage tank by way of a heat exchanger coil.

FORCED CIRCULATION SOLAR WATER HEATER (WITH ANTIFREEZE):

SPACE-HEATING:
SOLAR HEATING OF BUILDING:

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A sunspace is any enclosed space, such as a green house or sun porch, with a glass wall on the south side. A
sunspace may be attached (or built on) to a thick south wall of the building to be heated by the sun. Vents
near the top and bottom of the wall, as in Fig. 5.3.1, permit circulation through the main building of the
heated in the sunspace. Heat storage is provided by the thick wall, a concrete or masonry floor, water
containers, and other materials in the sunspace. Thus, an attached sunspace system combines features of
direct gain and storage wall concepts.

Roof storage of solar heat:

A passive solar system, trade named sky therm, was designed for house having a flat roof
located in a mild climate. The heat is absorbed and stored in water about 0.25 m deep
contained in plastic bags held in blackened steel boxes on the house roof. In a later design,
a layer of clear plastic sealed to the top of the bag provides a stagnant airspace to reduce
heat losses to the atmosphere. Heat is transferred from the heated water to the rooms below by
conduction through a metal ceiling. Air circulation may be aided by means of electric fans,
but this is not essential. To prevent loss of heat during the night, thermal insulator panels are
moved, either manually or by a time controlled electric motor, to cover the water bags. In the
day time, the panels, which are in sections, are removed and stacked one above the other.

Basic hot water active system:

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An outline of an active heating system with a sloping flat plate collected located on the roof
of the building is given in Fig.5.3.4. This is a basic hot water heating system, with water tank
storage and auxiliary energy source. Heat is transferred to the water in the storage tank,
commonly located in the basement of the building. The solar heated water from the tank
passes through an auxiliary heater, which comes on automatically when the water
temperature falls below a prescribed level. For space heating, the water may be pumped
through radiators or it may be used to heat air in a water to air heat exchanger.

During normal operation, the three way valves are set to permit solar heated water to flow
from the storage tank and auxiliary heater to the distribution system and back to the tank. If
after several cloudy days, the heat in storage is depleted, the valves will adjust automatically
to bypass the storage tank. In this way, auxiliary heating of the large volume of water in the
tank is prevented. If the temperature in the heater at the top of the collector should fall below
that at the bottom of the tank, the pump would be switched off automatically.

SOLAR SPACE COOLING OF BUILDINGS: VAPOUR ABSORPTION AIR

COOLING (LiBr-H2O SYSTEM85 to 95°C with FPC /NH3-H2O COOLER 120 to
130°C with concentrating collectors):

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The absorption air conditioning system is shown schematically in Fig.5.4.1.
The system consists of two parts
(i) The solar collector and storage, and
(ii) The absorption air conditioner and the auxiliary heating.

The essential components of the cooler are (i) generator (G), (ii) condenser (C), (iii) evaporator (E), (iv)
absorber (A), (v) heat-exchanger (HE).
The operation of air conditioners with energy from flat-plate collector and storage systems is the most
common approach to the solar cooling today. In essence cooling is accomplished as the generator of the
absorption cooler is supplied with heat by a fluid pumped from the collector storage system or from
auxiliary. Heat is supplied to a solution of refrigerant in absorbent in the generator, where refrigerant is
distilled out of the absorbent fluid. The refrigerant is condensed and goes through a pressure reducing valve
to the evaporator where it operates and cools air or water for the cooling space. The refrigerant vapor goes to
the absorber where it comes in contact with the solution which is weak in refrigerant and which flows from
the generator. The vapor is absorbed in the solution, which is then returned to the generator. A heat
exchanger is used for sensible heat recovery and greatly improves cooler C.O.P. From the point of
view of use of a conventional energy source, there is a single index of performance for rating
cooling processes that is the COP the ratio of the amount of cooling to the energy required.
For solar operation there are two additional factors, the temperature required in the solar
collector to drive the process and the ratio of cooling produced to solar energy incident on
the collector. As solar processes are inevitably transient in their operation, the energy
ratios and temperatures will vary with time and COP based on long term integrated
performance provides an appropriate index of performance. Pumping to more absorbent
solution may be by mechanical means or by vapor-lift pumping in the generator for low
pressure systems like LiBr-H2O system require water cooling of absorber and condenser.
Systems of this type shown in the figure have been the basis of most of the experience to date
with solar air conditioning.

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The coolers used in most experiments to date are LiBr-H2O machines water- cooled absorber
and condenser. The pressure in the condenser and generator is fixed largely by temperature
drops across heat transfer surfaces in the generator and condenser. The pressure in the
evaporator and absorber is fixed by the temperature of the cooling fluid to the absorber and by
the temperature drop across the heat transfer surfaces in the evaporator and the absorber. Thus,
to keep the generator temperatures within the limits imposed by the characteristics of flat-plate
collector, the critical design factors and operational parameters include effectiveness of the
heat exchangers and coolant temperature. Common practice in solar experiments has been to
use water cooled absorbers and condensers, which in turn requires a cooling tower.

Intermittent absorption cooling:

A modified method for absorption cooling which operates intermittently rather than continuously is based on
the following principle. In it, the system consists of two vessels which function in two alternative modes. In
one mode, one of the vessels is the generator and the other is the condenser of an absorption system. During
this phase, heat is supplied to the generator by oil, gas, steam or solar energy. In the alternative mode, the
first vessel becomes the absorber and the other the evaporator. During this phase refrigeration occurs. The
system operates in the regeneration mode for a few hours and is then changed to the refrigeration mode,
and so on. This technique can also be used for food preservation in rural areas, where electric power is not
readily available. In the refrigeration mode, heat is supplied to a dilute solution of lithium bromide in water
contained in the generator unit. Water vapor at a moderately high pressure passes to the condenser unit and
is condensed by cooling water. When sufficient liquid water has collected in the condenser, the heat supply
and cooling water are shut off and the refrigeration mode becomes operative. The lithium bromide solution
in the absorber unit is cooled so that its vapor pressure is lowered. This causes the water in the evaporator to
vaporize, and as a result cooling occurs. The relatively low pressure water vapor is then absorbed by the

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solution in the absorber unit. After some time, the initial conditions are restored, and the system reverts to the
regeneration mode.

The other refrigerant absorbent combinations used in this system are ammonia water (NH3-H2O) and
ammonia-sodium thiocynanate (NH3- NasCN).

SOLAR POWER GENERATION BY THERMAL STORAGE

Solar electric power generation by solar photovoltaic cells: A PVC is one which converts
photons into voltage or light energy to electricity. The materials used for this is silicon which

has 4 free valence e-‗s in its outermost cell. When the silicon is doped with phosphorous or
arsenic having 5 valence e-‗s in the outer most cell it forms an ‗n-junction‘ 4 e-‗s of
phosphorous with 4 e-‗s of silicon and one negative charged electron is left out in the ‗n-
junction‘. Similarly the ‗p-junction‘ is formed by doping silicon with boron having 3 valance
e-‗s in its outermost cell to create positively charged hole which attracts negatively charged
electron from n top junction through external load of cell.

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SOLAR DISTILLATION:

Potable or fresh water is one of the fundamental necessities of life for a man. Industries and
agriculture also require fresh water without which they cannot thrive. Man has been
dependent on rivers, lakes and underground water reservoir to fulfill his need of fresh water
the use of solar energy for desalting seawater and brackish well water has been
demonstrated in several moderate sized pilot plants in the Unites States, Greece, Australia and
several other countries. The idea was first applied in 1982.

A simple basin type solar still consists of a shallow blackened basin filled with saline or
brackish water tobe distilled. The depth of water is kept about 5-10 cm. It is covered with
sloppy transparent roof. Solar radiation, after passing through the roof is absorbed by the
blackened surface of the basin and thus increases the temperature of the water. The

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evaporated water increases the moisture content, which gets condensed on the cooler
underside of the glass. The condensed water slips down the slope and is collected through the
condensate channel attached to the glass. The construction is shown in figure above.

SOLAR POND

A solar pond is a mass of shallow water about 1 or 2 meters deep with a large collection area, which acts as a
heat trap. It contains dissolved salts to generate a stable density gradient. Part of the incident solar radiation
entering the pond surface is absorbed throughout the depth and the remainder which penetrates the pond is
absorbed at the black bottom. If the pond were initially filled with fresh water, the lower layers would heat
up, expand and rise to the surface. Because of the convective mixing and heat loss at the surface, only a
small temperature rise in the pond could be realized. On the other hand, convection can be eliminated by
initially creating a sufficiently strong salt concentration gradient. In this case, thermal expansion in the hotter
lower layers is insufficient to destabilize the pond. With convection suppressed, the heat is lost from the
lower layers only by conduction. Because of the relatively low conductivity, the water acts as an insulator
and permits high temperature (over 90oC) to develop in the bottom layers. At the bottom of the pond, a thick
durable plastic liner is laid. Materials used for the liner include butyl rubber, black polyethylene and hyperon
reinforced with nylon mesh. Salts like magnesium chloride, sodium chloride or sodium nitrate are dissolved
in the water, the concentration varying from 20 to 30 percent at the bottom to almost zero at the top.
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